by Devin Cain
"I’m at the edge of this settlement. There’s nothing for a long while ahead. It’s just cleared tunnel."
"Devil, where is the ore vein?"
"Somewhere around here. Why?"
"So I know where to bring the roof down. Can you give me a precise reading?"
"Wait," he replied and went silent as we moved along. Ahead of us, I noticed the two who’d looked in charge earlier and veered off course to speak to them.
"Gremory, follow me," I ordered. She did so without question.
"What?" she asked, noticing my thoughts.
"Huh?"
"What’s wrong? You’re brooding over something. Spit it out."
"How the hell did you come to that conclusion?" I growled. Nearby onlookers scurried away, afraid of the sound leaving my throat. She remained silent, but gave me a funny look as if saying ‘there you go, need anything else?’. "Whatever. At least I should be able to talk to you about it, no?"
"You can, and you always will be able to but hurry up, I feel vulnerable here."
I sighed, cracking my shoulders and neck before I spoke.
"I don’t feel very comfortable giving out orders to you or our core group."
"And that’s it?"
I shrugged.
"More or less."
"You do know you’re the Steel Legion’s leader," she said. "You need to be able to hand out orders, and they need to be able to follow them. We all need to follow them. If you think you’re the wrong person for that, then go back to Earth and hope Mikhail doesn’t come knocking."
"Don’t even go there," I growled, but this time because of her taunt.
I turned back to the two leaders and started moving in their direction again. They stood there, half afraid and half interested in what was about to transpire, or so I thought.
"You’re the boss, yes?" the man said hurriedly offering me his hand. It was rather small in comparison to my claws, so I changed my right hand back and shook it.
"I am. My name is Cain, and I’m the leader of our legion. You are?"
"Oh, yes! Admiral Cain, lady Levi said you are in charge. What can Hamush do for you?"
"His name is Hamush for real, no joke," Levi said, appearing behind me. Luckily, I felt a slight breeze pass before she popped up or I might have backhanded her accidentally.
"Names hold no meaning to me, only deeds. Hamush, I’m sorry, but I need to be very direct with you. We need a massive amount of ore from this vein," I said, pointing down to my feet, "And I need someone to mine it. If I provided your people with food and tools, would you be able to take care of it? Once you’re done, you would be sent to our mothership and could live with us in exchange for your services when they’re needed."
His eyes widened, along with the woman who scurried up next to Hamush.
"Yes, Admiral Cain! We can do that!" he cheered. I couldn’t help but notice how bad his teeth were, even though he must have been getting all the attention and care one could for such a place. Just how bad were the others off in comparison?
"Good. A group of marines has taken over the old Gebradim base up there," I said, pointing toward the rise that lead from the cavern. "And a battalion of other marines and other personnel is on their way here with food, water, clothing, and tools. They will guard you here until we take care of the queen," Gremory said. "You can eat and rest for one day, then you need to start working again. Is that possible?"
"What? No! You must not! She is terrible and strong! She controls all Gebradim on this planet!"
I smirked and put my still Human hand on his shoulder.
"Don’t worry, I’m quite strong myself. How far in do we need to go until we reach her?"
He looked down as if all of his hopes and dreams had just been destroyed.
"It took us seven hours on foot. If you can run fast, you might get there in three or so. Just follow the tunnel. If Gebradim patrol the tunnel, show them the key to get past them."
"Hey! Perk up, Hamush! If you can’t do what’s needed, I’ll find someone else who can!" I barked flexing my gun arm. He looked up at me questioningly but then nodded slowly as if he’d understood where I was going at.
"Yes, Admiral! You can count on us!"
"Gremory, have they already undocked?"
"They’re still preparing the tools and extra rations," she replied after a short moment of silence. "But why ask me? You have Devil."
"I can’t stand the little shit and his constant bitching, but I think he took a liking to you," I replied.
"A liking to me? Not after the way I chewed him out yesterday."
"Oh? You did?"
"Yeah, for the breach of privacy thing."
I sighed, knowing she’d hold it over me for years to come.
"I guess we deserved it. Anyway, let’s move it, we still got a lot to do."
"Like?" She asked.
"First, we need to go back topside and check the base for anything we could use. Maybe there’s some interesting technology, plans for weapons or armor, treasures or whatever. Then we decide on what to do next. I don’t think this is the only human colony around here."
"You bet it isn’t, but it’s the largest. There are roughly five hundred people here. From what Devil told me, there’s two more, much smaller ones, but they’re much closer to the Queen."
"Oh? So you’re using my rib behind my back to gain intel?" I joked.
"Not really, he’s offering it to me for free. Anyway, you should be pleased to hear there are two other camps outside of her reach. They’re not humans, and one race is downright hostile to us, but if you want, we could go and liberate them. Or something."
"Right. Very well," I replied and turned back to Hamush. "We’re going back up to the base. If you want, take your people there, it’s much safer for you."
"No, Hamush will not go up there with my people. We stay here in case Gebradim attack. We did nothing wrong."
I sighed, annoyed by the man’s cowardice.
"Look, nothing’s going to happen to you. In fact," I said and pointed my slug-thrower further in and shot at the cavern’s ceiling."Join in, Gremory," I said. She pointed her rifle at the spot I just shot at and unleashed a barrage of projectiles. A mass of stone and ore dropped from overhead, sealing the entrance to the tunnels.
"Do we need more?" she asked.
"No, it’s fine, isn’t it, Hamush? Now, do yourself a favor, and get your people up there to eat, drink, and rest. There will be clothes, doctors to check you all. Don’t shit on my goodwill."
He ground his teeth together and looked back to his woman, then to me and back to the sealed entrance. I couldn’t help but turn away from him and to look at the crowd that had gathered. Some were frightened, the kids were ecstatic from joy for some strange reason, while others didn’t seem to care— what a strange bunch this was.
"Alright, I’ll tell them, but please go up first. We need to talk in private, my people and me," he replied nervously. I nodded, pulling Gremory with me.
"Come on, we need to prepare."
She nodded and did as told.
I sighed as we neared the bright light and the extreme heat blowing into the cavern. It could have been worse, which in turn was one of my favorite sayings. It could always get worse.
"Why are you here, BC?" I asked when we finally made it back to the camp. Aiden greeted us and offered me his hand.
"Admiral, I wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, Cafka promised me to be the vanguard of sorts, no?" he joked.
"Yeah, I can vaguely remember something like that being said."
"Well, here I am. What do you want me to do, Admiral?"
"I need your people to take everything apart, see if there’s anything of interest to our cause. Put another group on repair duty and see if you can get any of the gun emplacements to work. Lastly, have some of the men help herd the new humans, give out food and water, clothing and generally keep things in order."
"Yes, sir!" he snapped a salute and ran off toward a
group of officers and started barking orders. The men and women scurried off in all directions, shouting orders of their own as Aiden took point and entered the compound along with a dozen marines.
"Where are the other camps located?" I asked. "And do we have a way to communicate with them?"
"I can help with that," Levi replied.
"And how is that?"
"I downloaded the languages from Devil’s mainframe. Nyx is a talent for languages, so it didn’t take her long to figure everything out."
"As a reward, you’re on point again. And as a second reward, you’ll help make a translating device with all known languages once we have the time for it."
"I don’t mind. It just shows how useful Nyx really is."
"Right. Now, try to make contact with them before we swoop in. The nearest camp is seven miles north, and it belongs to a race called the Sqvardians."
"What can you tell us about them?" I asked curiously. An image of a four-legged squid-like creature appeared on my taper. Six thick tentacles hugged its body that stood about eight feet tall. They were an aquatic race from the information presented, so how were they serving the Gebradim here on Beta?
Another interesting thing was marked on the report only two lines lower. The Sqvardians were immune to any known sickness, both on their homeworld and on Earth. We lacked any other information that could tell us about other races, but for now, that was good enough for me.
"Why are they hostile to Humans?" I asked, not interested in reading three more pages of info. Levi coughed as she held her hand up.
"We bombed one of their main planets into oblivion from orbit some seventy years ago. Ever since we’ve been very hostile."
I sighed. It was only logical. We knew how to kill like the best of them, but saving a life wasn’t on our menu. Well from now on it was. And if I could show these squids we were different, maybe they would give us a chance at least.
"Lead the way," I said as my human arm changed into a shield again.
"Whatever you say," Gremory whispered and took to the sky. She flew ahead of us and circled back after scouting, landing beside Levi and me as we ran full speed to the North-East. "The poor sobs are everything but alive. You should see the state their in."
"Good, good. That way we’ll have a better chance of winning them over. What about defenses?"
"Nothing. I doubt they could even do anything if they wanted to. Anyway, do you want a lift?"
"I’m not gonna say no to such an offer, especially not after today."
Six minutes in, Gremory landed on the outskirt of the camp. It was a rundown group of shacks and cottages in heavy shade. Palm-like trees surrounded the small pond along with a group of the Sqvardians poking with some tools at the ground.
"Shit, man, just look at them," I whispered. "They look like us after our torture session."
"What do you want to do?" Levi asked weakly.
"Go speak to them. I doubt they can harm you. Don’t tell them what you are right away, though your shape might give you away."
"No worries. Just leave it to me," Levi said and scurried off, hands held high as she approached them. We stood there waiting for five long minutes during which most of the village had gathered around her as she spoke. Then, she pointed our way, and most of them cowered away, stepped back from her and hid in the palm’s shade. Finally, she motioned for us to approach, which we did ever so slowly. I didn’t want to frighten the buggers.
"Levi?" I asked over our tapper. "What do we do?"
"I would suggest you change back and talk to them normally. These have been here for generations they say, and have no real interest in what happened back then. All they wish is to escape this hellish place if at all possible."
"You know, I think you’re finally starting to earn your keep, young lady."
"She sure is, Admiral," Gremory added. "The language thing is a very handy tool to have."
I stopped some fifty feet from the group, holding my hands up beside my head and started changing back. Gremory did the same, though she kept a weapon on hand. You could never be sure with aliens after all.
"Greetings," I said, waving at them as we approached. Levi translated and listened to a very dark-blueish Sqvardian who bowed slightly.
"He gives you his villages greetings as well, Admiral and thanks to you for standing on equal terms with him, and not from a position of power."
I frowned and turned to Gremory.
"Aren’t we standing here from a position of power? At least it looks like that to me."
She shrugged.
"I have no idea. Sorry I’m of no help in that regard," she smirked.
"I’m always ready to talk to everyone on equal terms, as long as they’re not hostile. Now, ask them if they would like to join us up there," I asked, pointing at the sky. "We can have as much water ready for them if they do. And is this all of them? There’s barely fifty."
"Yes, Admiral. This is all. And yes, they do want to join, but only if you can imitate this habitat for them."
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, lowering my hands. The crowd let out an unpleasant sound and started whimpering as they huddled up in a group. "Wait, tell them I’m not mad or anything, it will be a tough job to do it. Hold on," I said as Levi translated. "Devil, can we do that? Make a habitat for them up there in one of the ships? It doesn’t have to be large, there are only fifty of them."
"Oh yes, there’s only fifty, but given enough water and space, there can be five hundred in a month."
"That’s—good? Isn’t it? If we can make them our allies and force them to stay loyal to us."
"We could do so in a closed environment. But what about when we find a habitable planet? They could outnumber us within a year a hundred to one."
"Levi, tell them we can do so, and tell them about the new planet. But if they want to be saved and procreate, they will be kept under watch, and every newborn will have a chip installed that can end their life if I say so."
"But something like that doesn’t exist," she protested.
"No, but they don’t know that. Now tell them!" She sighed and nodded her head before turning back to the main Sqvardian. A heated debate erupted once Levi translated everything, and for some reason, she stepped up to us and hid behind me. Or was she showing where her loyalties lay?
"Very well," she translated after seven long minutes of heated debate. "When can they leave?"
"Within today, or latest tomorrow."
"He expresses his gratitude, and from those who remained alive after living here for over thirty human years. He also promises to cooperate with you in whatever you want to do with them. He says the Sqvardians aren’t stupid and they know we covet their immunity system. They are willing to help us in that regard."
"Alright, tell them to pack whatever they got. A ship will arrive here later to pick everyone up. All they need to do is board it and go where they’re told to— nothing more and nothing less. When we’re done down here, we will meet again on Devil. Until we do, they’re to sit tight and rest. Ask them if it’s understood three times over."
"Yes, sir," she replied and started translating the order. "They agreed, sir."
"Good. Now, does the last camp hold anything of value? Or can we skip it? It’s rather hot on the surface."
"I don’t know. They’re faraway cousins from a race with the strongest battleships out there. At least from those that are known to us," Gremory said. "It’s up to you. However, they’re to them like—monkeys are to us. Would it do us any good? You decide."
"I’ll decide once we’re back at the camp. I want to take care of the human colony and these squids first. Have someone prepare a report on these creatures over the next couple hours so I can read it. Only important things."
"Done. Shall we go back now?"
"Lead the way. Oh and Levi, tell them thanks. I hope we can live finally in peace."
"Done. They wish us the same and tell you that we won’t be disappointed if we treat them right."
> "Good, good. Now, are you coming with us, or do you want to stay here for a while longer?"
"Do you even need to ask? I stink of fish. Come one, please let’s move it already," Levi groaned. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I waved the squids a goodbye before we flew off toward our new camp.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
To my great surprise, the walls around the camp, or rather base, were mostly patched up and new gun emplacements had been installed. Space marines patrolled the outside along with drones that hovered high overhead. Now, this was a side I hadn’t seen during the battle earlier. These must have been older, more experienced soldiers, or a whole other group altogether.
We landed inside the base, happy to be ‘home’ so to say. BC Aiden noticed us land and hurried to greet us. Two guards to either of his side ran with him, carrying some kind of power rifles. They were long, cylindrical things with batteries connected to them. I first looked at the guns and then at him. He grinned before punching me in the shoulder lightly, then withdrew his hand and went all serious.
"Sir, those are new rifles specifically created to bust through thick armor. We don’t have many yet, but once the engineering division had their hands free, they went back to some old projects. These rifles are one of them, along with new armor, combat knives with an energy-based edge, tremor grenades and many more. But they won’t be ready for a while yet."
"That’s quite impressive, if I may say so. I knew there must have been more to this legion than just a bunch of weaklings and sadists."
"Sir?" he asked questioningly as if I’d just hurt his feelings.
"You know what I mean, BC. Speaking of which, what battalion do these men belong to?"
"They’re the mercenary outfit, but they’ve sworn their allegiance to you now that Cafka is gone. He’s been causing them as much trouble as he has to us, but they were just grunts, so they had to take it."
"Good, more fighters are always welcome. So, how about you take us somewhere cooler, BC? I’m sweating my nuts off out here."
"Yes, sir!" he snapped a salute and motioned for us to follow. "Right this way, sir!"